Sunday, December 21, 2008

Transcendence vs. Belief

Can contemplating soaring cathedrals substitute for Christianity?

Nave of Canterbury Cathedral. Kent, England

There are many people who say "I love and support Western culture, but I am an atheist/I don't believe in Jesus Christ God incarnate."

The history of Western civilization and its relation with Christianity is complicated. I think there were pre-modern doubters, including the great scientist Newton - although his doubts were more of questions to details rather than outright disbelief, and of course the German "renaissance man" Goethe, who it seems did admit a semblance of Christianity into his life near the end.

But nothing compares to modernity which is replete with public avowals of disbelief or truncated/fabricated belief. There are very intellectual-sounding arguments which put God or Jesus - as prescribed in the Bible - completely out of the spiritual picture. Since many of these people are highly spiritual, then you have interesting takes on their transcendence which they base often on Christian themes - the soaring cathedrals, Bach's Passions, even a Christmas carol. Often they will say that liturgy and specific prayer will not move them, but a quiet time in the pews of an empty church can trigger that feeling.

But, Western civilization wasn't built on a transcendent feeling, but on belief. If they love the past so much, the most important, successful and astonishing one having been built on Christian belief (many talk about the Greco-Roman belief systems which sustained their great civilizations, but I contend that what they built is nothing compared to what the Christian civilization has built), then how are they going to build the future?

Here is blog discussion - to which I submitted a few words - which discusses these issues.

I think we're at a cross-roads towards extinction or progress. Our biggest enemies so far, liberalism and Islam, are gaining the upper hand. Both have their own very well established systems of belief. We cannot approach them with ephemeral transcendence. Our only arm really is Christianity.